Designed to appeal to local creative types, 520 Lofts is a unique mix of classic Victorian architecture and modern influence. Bernardon skillfully married the two architectural styles to create an award-winning design.
At approximately 79,000 sq. ft., the six-story building includes a basement that is home to three artist studios. The first floor contains nearly 11,000 sq. ft. of office space. Above that, there are five stories of residential units (68 in total) ranging from studios to two-bedroom lofts. The owner describes the building's aesthetics as Hemingway meets Warhol... a distinctly creative urban vibe accented with graceful nods to classic Victorian motifs. Just steps away from the Allentown Art Museum, Arts Park and Liberty Bell Museum, 520 Lofts is perfectly suited to appeal to the creative crowd.
The building stands in the former location of the Crocodile Rock Café music venue, an iconic venue that saw famous pop, rock, hip-hop and country artists perform over the years. Bernardon made a nod to the site's history by using diamond-shaped metal shingles on the mansard roof to represent crocodile scales.
The white Norman brick, which is longer and narrower than standard brick, is punctuated by black Andersen® 100 Series windows. The 100 Series window is the upper echelon of windows for multi-family projects, Michael McCloskey, Principal at Bernardon said. We had used tens of thousands of Andersen windows before this project, but it was the first time that this owner had used them. They were so impressed with the quality and performance of them that they haven't used any other window brand since.
Another local landmark that the architect wanted to honor was the beautiful Lehigh Valley. Michael said, “We made many trips to the adjacent parking lot to stand on the roof and look at the views before the building was built. This gave us the ideal perspective to envision what the views would be like from the two-story windows on the 6th floor loft.” He continued, “Framing the views was the story we wanted to tell.”
With its nods to history, Victorian architecture and modern sophistication, 520 Lofts has become a stunning fixture of the local creative community.
